Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space Hardcover – November 8, 1994
Author: Visit ‘s Carl Sagan Page ID: 0679438416
From Publishers Weekly
In a tour of our solar system, galaxy and beyond, Cornell astronomer Sagan meshes a history of astronomical discovery, a cogent brief for space exploration and an overview of life-from its origins in the oceans to humanity’s first emergence to a projected future where humans “terraform” and settle other planets and asteroids, Earth having long been swallowed by the sun. Maintaining that such relocation is inevitable, the author further argues that planetary science is of practical utility, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to looming environmental catastrophes such as “nuclear winter” (lethal cooling of Earth after a nuclear war, a widely accepted prediction first calculated by Sagan in 1982). His exploration of our place in the universe is illustrated with photographs, relief maps and paintings, including high-resolution images made by Voyager 1 and 2, as well as photos taken by the Galileo spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope and satellites orbiting Earth, which show our planet as a pale blue dot. A worthy sequel to Sagan’s Cosmos. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Sagan’s great appeal as a popular-science writer, beyond his prodigious knowledge, is his optimism and sense of wonder. A visualizer and a visionary, he fires our imagination and turns science into high drama. After writing about our origins in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1992), Sagan turns his attention to outer space and takes up where Cosmos left off 14 years ago. An astonishing amount of information was amassed during that productive era, and Sagan, of course, is up on all of it. A passionate and eloquent advocate of space exploration, he believes that the urge to wander, and the need for a frontier, is intrinsic to our nature, and that this trait is linked to our survival as a species. Throughout this beautifully illustrated, revelatory, and compelling volume, Sagan returns again and again to our need for journeys and quests as well as our unending curiosity about our place in the universe. Such philosophical musings are interwoven with precise and enthusiastic accounts of the triumphs of interplanetary exploration, from the Apollo moon landings to the spectacular findings of robotic missions, especially the Voyager spacecraft. Sagan describes one exciting discovery after another regarding the four giants–Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune–and their many moons, mysterious and exquisite rings, and volatile atmospheres. He argues, convincingly, that planetary exploration is of immense value. It not only teaches us about our celestial neighbors, but helps us understand and protect Earth. Yes, we have seemingly insurmountable problems on this pale blue dot, but we have always reached for the stars, and we mustn’t stop now. Donna Seaman
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Hardcover: 429 pagesPublisher: Random House; 1 edition (November 8, 1994)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0679438416ISBN-13: 978-0679438410 Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 7.8 x 9.5 inches Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds Best Sellers Rank: #39,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #19 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace > Astronautics & Space Flight #21 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science > Star-Gazing #54 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science > Aeronautics & Astronautics
As these pages attest, there are a number of fine writers out there providing us non-scientists with insights on nature’s mysteries. None, however, quite reached the breadth of view or intensity of feeling imparted by Carl Sagan. His writings explained topics ranging from quantum particles to the extent of the cosmos. Along the way, he addressed evolution, space engineering and countless other facets of science and technology. Even fiction wasn’t beyond his grasp.
Pale Blue Dot is a journey in time and space. Beginning with the assertion that we’re natural wanderers, being the only species to settle across our world, it continues with a plea to extend further our exploration of space. The early chapters challenge restrictions on our desire to explore and learn. Sagan demonstrates how foolish minds have restrained our quest for knowledge of the cosmos. He then takes us on a tour of the solar system, exhibiting the wonders revealed by the fleet of robot probes. He reminds us of the forces the cosmos can unleash, sometimes right in our neighbourhood. Like many of the rest of us, Sagan was awed by the collision of a comet with the Jovian gas giant. It was a hint of what might lay in store for us if we fail to understand the universe better than we do now. The space probes also returned images of worlds invalidating existing theories of planetary formation. If our own neighbours can present such bizarre structures, what kinds of worlds ride beyond our ken, circling suns we can barely imagine? What Sagan can’t portray, he can conjecture. With his firm working scientist’s foundation, Sagan’s speculations command respectful attention.
This book must be shelved alongside Richard Dawkins THE SELFISH GENE and THE BLIND WATCHMAKER.
He never says it. But it’s a sequel, par excellence, to the classic _Cosmos_.
Sequels are usually disappointing. This is one of those rare cases where the sequel is better than the original. I had read this book in hardcover and ended up buying my own paperback copy while in Ithaca (Sagan’s hometown) because I had nothing to read and a long ride back home.
I’m a fan of Sagan – can’t help it – because even though he’s a brilliant scientist, he somehow manages to be a great writer as well. This book is no exception. Sagan’s basic idea is that the destiny of humanity is to expand out to the stars. And even though this idea reeks with echoes of Manifest Destiny, I have to agree. In Manifest Destiny, there were Indians – here, no intelligent life that we know of. And if there is something out there, wouldn’t we want to know about it?
Like so many great works of popular science, Sagan starts out by tracing the changes in our views of the world, from our conceit that we were the center of the Universe to the backwater position that we’re in today. Sagan’s idea of generalized chauvinisms comes up – first in place (the obvious), then in time (if there was other intelligent life, it’s not around any more), and, if I recall correctly, in chemical basis (life must be made out of carbon). He refutes all these ideas – and why not? Who said that silicon can’t conquer the universe?
My personal favorite part of the book is Chapter 5, "Is There Intelligent Life On Earth?" Sagan asks us to "[imagine yourself as] an alien explorer entering the Solar system after a long journey through the blackness of interstellar space". As we examine the Earth at finer and finer resolution, what do we see?
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